Crofton, Francis Blake
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1842-1911) Irish-born librarian and author, in Canada from 1864 (with a decade in the US) until his retirement as librarian of the Nova Scotia provincial legislature 1in 1906 and his subsequent move to England. His nonfiction work in bibliography is of some importance; of his fiction, he is of moderate sf interest for two volumes of Tall Tales [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below]. The Major's Big-Talk Stories (coll of linked stories 1881) is less exorbitant than Hairbreadth Escapes of Major Mendax [for subtitle see Checklist below] (coll of linked stories 1889), in which various Monsters proliferate, improbable Balloons are made use of, and the Hollow Earth is explored. Both books show the clear influence of the tales of Baron Munchausen begun by Rudolf Eric Raspe. [JC]
Francis Blake Crofton
born Crossboyne, Ireland: 17 July 1842
died Portsmouth, Hampshire: 23 October 1911
works (selected)
- The Major's Big-Talk Stories (London: Frederick Warne, 1881) [coll of linked stories: hb/]
- Hairbreadth Escapes of Major Mendax: His Perilous Encounters, Startling Adventures, and Daring Exploits with Indians, Cannibals, Wild Beasts, Serpents, Balloons, Geysers, Etc, Etc, All Over the World, in the Bowels of the Earth, and Above the Clouds: A Personal Narrative (Halifax, Nova Scotia: A Mackinlay, 1889) [coll of linked stories: hb/]
links
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